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Would you have expected anything other than a mad rush toward Christmas, and a cliff dive into the abyss of unscheduled time afterward? I thought not.

My mom, seamstress extraordinaire, made this most spectacular quilt for me and R. It has cats and stars all over it, and is aptly labeled "North Star Cats." Fairbanks North Star is the name of the borough (like a county) we live in. Clever name, and an amazing quilt. You can't see it, but the quilting on the white blocks is done in 5 point stars. Oliver and Finnegan approve.

The red coat is a gift from R, who also gave me a set of snowshoes and poles. I gave her a new messenger bag and some nice flannel pajamas. We gave all of the kiddos books and plastic tableware because we're the mean aunts who don't buy toys. Ha! We gave the baby some clothes, and I may try my hand at these wonderful booties for her as well.

We're lazing about this week, playing with our gifts, watching all of the Harry Potter movies again, and just enjoying each other's company. We're going down to Anchorage next Tuesday for a short holiday. Then all too soon it will be back to school for us. In the meantime, however, I'll be busy being free and unhurried. How nice is that?

Happy Holidays, and enjoy the new year!

So this is our cat, Finnegan, who can not resist an open bag or box. He also likes to chew on tape and barf it up later. Nice! He chewed on the wreath a little too before we hung it up. Now he's having a grand old time climbing in the tree and knocking down the ornaments.

R and I took a personal day on Friday to bake cookies with her mom to give as gifts. We made: *
1. shortbread cookies dipped in caramel, nuts and white chocolate
2. thumbprint cookies rolled in coconut and filled with raspberry jelly
3. brownies with York peppermint patties in the center, drizzled with melted white chocolate.
4. mint-free version of the above
5. truffles: with Grand Marnier rolled in almonds, truffles with Chambord rolled in toasted coconut, truffles with peppermint schnapps rolled in crushed mints
6. phyllo shells filled with candy bar pieces, with melted chocolate poured over the top– like a little tart.
7. peppermint bark– a layer of milk chocolate covered with a layer of white chocolate and crushed peppermints, broken into pieces.
8. spritz cookies (R's mom makes these every year even though the cookie press never works right and she swears a lot.)
9. Mexican wedding cookies
10. peanut butter cookies with peanut butter cups in the center
11. Christmas tree stained glass cookies (holes cut out and filled with melted hard candies to make the ornaments).

*It should be noted that some of these things were made by R's mom last night and not on Friday, but it's still a darn lot of cookies.

Merry Christmas to you and yours! We're looking to just survive this last week of school, and then we're home free. *whew*

Real post coming soon(ish)

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